


Birthday Weekend Surprises

by isnt_that_wizard



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Birthday Party, Chim and Maddie have a baby!!, Chris is turning 10, Christopher Diaz is a National Treasure, Domestic Fluff, Eddie Diaz Needs a Hug (9-1-1 TV), Eddie fights with his parents, F/F, F/M, Family Feels, Fighting, Fluff and Angst, Getting Together, Helena and Ramon come to visit, Helena has some depth and character, Isabel Diaz is amazing, M/M, Meeting the Parents, Pre-Relationship, Protective Evan "Buck" Buckley, Team as Family, Worried Eddie Diaz, i couldn't come up with a name for her though, overuse of the word thankfully, rating teen for some swear words but that's it, surprise visit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-25
Updated: 2020-05-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24363454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: “What, uh- what are you guys doing here?” Eddie asked, trying his hardest not to sound hostile or accusatory- the last thing he needed was to start a fight with them in front of Chris. Helena frowned at her son’s question.“It’s Christopher’s birthday,” she stated as if Eddie wouldn’t know that.“We heard from you sister that you were having a party,” Ramon piped up, the accusation a lot more clear in his voice than it had been Eddie’s. Eddie silently cursed his younger sister; of course she would have mentioned that she and the family were going to visit LA. He knew the look on his mother’s face was screaming “You’re having a party and we weren’t invited”.----When Eddie signed himself up for a weekend of birthday festivities for his almost 10 year old son, he knew he was going to have to deal with the energy, sugar-rushes, and overall excitement of Christopher. Thankfully, he had roped Buck into helping him with it all. What he had not planned to deal with, however, were his parents showing up on his doorstep the day of Christopher's birthday party, insisting they were here to help celebrate. And wasn't that just a recipe for disaster worse than anything Eddie could cook up in the kitchen.
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz & Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley & Christopher Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Helena Diaz/Ramon Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 35
Kudos: 1050





	Birthday Weekend Surprises

Frankly, it was far too early in the morning to deal with Christopher’s energy. The kid hadn’t even gotten food in himself yet, but he was bouncing off the walls in excitement and the sweetest giggles Eddie has ever heard. Eddie hadn’t even had the opportunity to hear his alarm this morning; Chris had been in the room and climbing onto the bed to wake his father up at 7:00AM sharp. But Eddie just resigned himself to the untameable energy of his son, softly telling Christopher to go get dressed before pulling himself out of the bed. 

Eddie couldn’t believe that his baby boy was turning ten years old tomorrow. There was no way the kid could be that old already. But he was. Tomorrow was Christopher’s birthday, and they had made some big plans for his achievement to double digits. Eddie and his grandmother, Isabel, had decided to host a party for the boy tonight. Chris had wanted it on his actual birthday, but Eddie had convinced him to do it today instead since it would be easier for everyone to get together on a Saturday night, rather than Sunday when everyone had jobs to get to on Monday morning. Unfortunately, doing the party the day before his birthday meant that Eddie had given himself a whole weekend of hyper, sugar-rushed, excited Christopher to deal with. Getting him to do anything would be a hassle, Eddie knew, but what the hell. Chris only turned 10 once. 

The party tonight was a whole affair. Isabel had agreed to host, then told Christopher that he could invite, basically, whoever he wanted. Which amounted to so many people. Chris had invited the whole 118 family, and their separate families and significant others. Carla was added on after that. Then, of course, his best friends Harry and Denny. Then a short list of his best friends from school. Tía Pepa had obviously made the list as well. After that, Chris had begged and begged that his favorite cousins, Eddie’s sister Adriana’s kids, be invited as well. Luckily, Adriana had just recently moved to Santa Clarita after her husband’s job was relocated, so she had readily agreed to see her favorite nephew and bring the family down for the weekend. Soon, Isabel had an impressive number of people coming for her 10 year old great-grandson’s birthday party. Not that she minded, which she had reminded Eddie of again and again as he apologized for the slightly out of hand guest list. She loved hosting big gatherings, she said. Knowing it was a battle he wouldn’t win, Eddie had just sighed, pressing a kiss to his grandmother’s cheek in thanks. 

The party wasn’t until much later in the day, officially starting around 6:30, but Chris would be a bundle of excitement all day. To help tame his son, Eddie had asked- well, begged- Buck to come spend the day with them so he had an extra set of hands. Buck had agreed- “anything for Chris, man”- and was set to come over at about 8:30 to make breakfast. The two of them had also planned a picnic lunch at the park for Chris. 

Eddie tried to get through his morning routine quickly; he could already hear Chris chatting excitedly with himself and playing with Legos in the living room. Eddie loved that kid more than anything in the world, and it made his heart ache to think that his baby was growing up so quickly. It made him regret the time he’d spent away from him for the first 6 years and made him cherish the time he’d gotten with him since. When he’d first enlisted, he’d never imagined that he’d end up a single father at the end of it all. He was grateful for the family he’d built here in LA, and they had all helped and supported him so much as he navigated his messy, complicated life. Buck most of all. There truly was no one he trusted with Christopher more than his best friend and partner. Buck was a constant in their lives, one Eddie was hopeful would never, ever leave them. He knew neither he or Buck could guarantee being around forever- their job was dangerous, and they’d both already had so many close calls- but they were trying their damned hardest to do so. 

Eddie was man enough to admit that he loved Buck. He and Chris both did. The problem was that he was struggling to admit that he was _in love_ with Buck. It wasn’t even that he thought Buck didn’t feel the same- in fact, he was pretty sure he did. It was just. . . hard. He and Shannon had been high school sweethearts. She was only the second relationship Eddie had ever had, and it had ended in a spectacularly bad fashion. Eddie was scared of what could happen if he just finally gave in and kissed Buck like he so desperately wanted to. Frankly, Eddie was pretty sure it was inevitable that he would some day, he just wasn’t sure when. 

When Eddie made it out of the bathroom, having showered, brushed his teeth, and gotten dressed, he could hear that Chris had turned on an early morning cartoon. He wandered out to the living room to see Chris sitting on the couch, wearing a bright green shirt in his favorite color, jeans, Lego bricks in his hands and crutches lying on the floor next to him. Christopher had a soft and happy smile on his face as he hummed along with the song in the cartoon. Eddie couldn’t stop himself from moving quickly to his unsuspecting kid, scooping him off the couch in a tight hug. Chris squealed happily as Eddie did so, a loud laugh escaping his throat as Eddie tickled him best he could while holding him in the air. Eddie didn’t focus on the fact that soon Christopher would be too big to be able to do this. 

“Daddy! Put me down!” Chris protested the tickling, though a smile was on his face. 

Eddie pretended to think about it for a minute, humming as he shook his head. “Put you down? But I have to get all my cuddles with 9 year old Christopher before he leaves me! I’m gonna miss him so much, you know.”

Christopher let out what Eddie was pretty sure was a scoff- he blamed Buck for that- and shook his head at his dad’s antics. “Daddy, I’m not gonna be any different.”

“You’re not? So you’ll still give me cuddles and hugs?” Eddie’s tone was teasing, but he couldn’t help feel the underlying seriousness to his question. Christopher just laughed, wrapping his arms around Eddie’s neck as tightly as his little body could. 

“I promise,” Chris whispered. “Love you.”

Christopher had an uncanny ability to know when Eddie needed to hear those words, even if he didn’t understand why. Eddie stayed silent for a moment, holding his son against him ever so tighter, then turned his head to press a kiss into Chris’ curls. 

“Love you, too, buddy,” Eddie replied as he set Chris back onto the couch to watch his show. Chris smiled up at him as Eddie ruffled his hair. “Now why don’t you start thinking about what you want on your pancakes. Buck’ll be here soon.”

Just like that, Christopher was back to bouncing in his seat with pure excitement. It made Eddie smile at how much his son loved Buck. He went into the kitchen to start pulling out the ingredients he knew Buck would need for pancakes. He didn’t dare touch the stove or start mixing anything- he could picture Buck’s scowl and hear the remarks of “Get out of my kitchen, Diaz. You’re a hazard.” Eddie rolled his eyes to himself; he wasn’t _that_ bad of a cook. He could certainly make pancakes. But Buck’s pancakes were better- both Diazes knew it and Buck did, too- so he left it at just getting out the ingredients. 

It was at about 8:10 that Eddie heard a knock on the door, frowning at the sound. Why the hell was Buck knocking? He had a key to the place, and a standing invitation to walk in the door whenever he wanted. He couldn’t remember that last time Buck, or anyone for that matter, had knocked on his door. Carla had a key and both Isabel and Pepa knew where he had hid his spare. Before Chris could jump up in his innocence to answer the door, sure that it would be his Buck, Eddie called out to him. 

“I’ll get the door, mijo. You can watch your show.”

As Eddie walked to the door, the only thing he could think of was that Buck had forgotten his key, or lost it. Buck’s knack for losing things was as impressive as his ability to land himself in the hospital. Pretty sure it had to be Buck at his door, looking sheepish in his 6’2” frame but smiling brightly, Eddie was already talking as he opened the door. 

“Pendejo, please tell me you did not lose your- oh.”

Yeah, it was most definitely not Buck on the other side of the door. Eddie stood in shocked silence as he looked into the smiling faces of his parents. Well, that was definitely unexpected. After a minute, his father raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Aren’t you going to invite us in, Eddie?”

Eddie shook himself out of the shock, nodding to his father as he stepped out of the way, holding his arm out to invite them in. His mother pressed a kiss to his cheek as he did so, but Eddie stayed silent. Chris, having clearly heard that it was _not_ Buck at the door, wandered towards them on his crutches, looking surprised at the sight of his grandparents. For a moment, Eddie was worried; he knew Chris had heard them fighting when they’d been in town for Shannon’s funeral. But Chris broke out into his happy grin, moving towards them a little faster. 

“Abuelo! Grandma!” Chris sounded happy to see them, which allowed Eddie to let out a breath of relief. Eddie watched as his father scooped Chris into his arm, both his parents going to hug him. Eddie tensed his jaw as he saw his mother attempting to smooth out Christopher’s curls and straighten out his shirt. Two minutes in and she was already fussing about every little detail. Eddie barely registered the greeting going on in front of him. What were they doing here? Well, he was sure they were here for Chris’ birthday, but showing up without so much as a phone call? The guest room wasn’t set up; he’d never put sheets back on the bed after the last time Carla had spent the night, Chris’ birthday presents were hiding under the bed, and the closet space was taken up by both Eddie and Buck’s spare uniforms. Not to mention Eddie had clearly made plans for his son’s birthday weekend, ones that very much did _not_ involve unexpected guests. 

Once Ramon had set Christopher back to the ground and the boy moved towards his room to grab something to show his grandparents, they both turned towards their son. 

“What, uh- what are you guys doing here?” Eddie asked, trying his hardest not to sound hostile or accusatory- the last thing he needed was to start a fight with them in front of Chris. Helena frowned at her son’s question. 

“It’s Christopher’s birthday,” she stated as if Eddie wouldn’t know that. 

“We heard from you sister that you were having a party,” Ramon piped up, the accusation a lot more clear in his voice than it had been Eddie’s. Eddie silently cursed his younger sister; of course she would have mentioned that she and the family were going to visit LA. He knew the look on his mother’s face was screaming “You’re having a party and we weren’t invited”. 

Eddie sighed, smiling shyly at his parents. “Oh, yeah, um. I’m sorry. The guest list got so long and Abuela was in charge of most of it- it must have slipped my mind.”

His father hummed in response, eyebrow raised. No, it did not slip his mind. He had been acutely aware that his parents were not on the invitation list. Christopher seemed happy to see them now, but he had mentioned nothing about having them at his party, so Eddie hadn’t even told them. The guest list had been left entirely up to Chris, and even if it hadn’t, Eddie still wasn’t sure he would have invited them. Things between them hadn’t been easy or smooth since Eddie told them they were moving out of El Paso, getting even worse after the funeral. But no way in hell was he about to tell his parents that he really hadn’t wanted them here from Chris’ birthday. 

Desperate to change the subject, Eddie looked between his parents, “Anything I can get you guys? Coffee, juice?”

Helena smiled, nodding. “Coffee sounds wonderful, dear, thank you.” 

Eddie just nodded, moving back into the kitchen. He moved to the coffee pot- some fancy maker that Buck had bought and Eddie barely knew how to use- turning it on as he pulled down two mugs from his cupboard. As he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a new voice entered the mix. 

“All right, Diaz boys! The pancake master has- oh, shi- I mean, sorry. I didn’t realize they had company.”

_Buck._ Shit. In the shock of his parents’ arrival, Eddie had somehow managed to let Buck completely slip his mind. He was here for breakfast, just like they’d planned. 

“And who are you, exactly?”

At the sound of his father’s interrogatory tone, Eddie rushed from the kitchen to the living room. 

“Buck,” he said breathlessly, causing his best friend to turn towards him. Buck had a look of confusion and what seemed to be worry in his eyes as he looked Eddie up and down, as if checking him over for visible injuries. Something about it made Eddie smile involuntarily. He felt himself, despite the chaos he was sure was about to unfold, relax simply being in Buck’s presence. 

“Hey, Eds,” Buck responded with a smile once he deemed that Eddie was injury free. In his hand was a shopping back of what Eddie was sure was _more_ ingredients for the pancakes and their lunch, despite the fact that Buck had pretty much stocked Eddie’s kitchen to the brim with things already. Behind Buck, Helena cleared her throat, staring at Buck with a hard gaze and tense posture. 

“Oh, right, um. Mom, Dad, this is my friend Evan Buckley- _Buck_. We work together. Buck, meet my parents. They came to surprise Chris for his birthday.”

Eddie tried to not let the anger at his parents’ actions seep into his tone while also trying to emphasize that Chris wasn’t the only person they’d surprised. The look in Buck’s eyes told him that he’d gotten the message, and he shot a look of sympathy to Eddie before turning on the charm, smiling widely at Helena and Ramon. 

“Oh, hi! Sorry about the barging in introduction. It’s nice to meet you guys.” 

Ramon eyes Buck critically, and Eddie tensed. His mother was the image of politeness, smiling at Buck and saying it was nice to meet him, too. Ramon, though, skipped right past the pleasantries. 

“You have a key to my son’s place, I see.”

Buck followed Ramon’s gaze to his own hand, where his keys still dangled from his fingers. It looked almost identical to Eddie’s key chain: one for Eddie’s house, one for Buck’s apartment, keys for the firehouse, and keys for his Jeep and Maddie’s place where Eddie had one for his truck and Abuela’s. 

“Oh. Um. Yeah?” he sounded sheepish, like there was something wrong with him having a key. 

“Buck had been injured on the job,” Eddie jumped in, defending his friend. “He stayed here a lot during his recovery, so I thought it was just easier to give him his own key.”

It wasn’t a total lie. When Buck was recovering from the ladder truck injury, it had definitely been easier to have Buck being able to come and go from the house when he needed to, and it was easier for Eddie to have a key to Buck’s place too, but that hadn’t been the full reason Eddie had bestowed the little metal key to Buck. He trusted Buck implicitly, with every aspect of his life. He practically lived here half the time, and took care of Christopher regularly. So Eddie gave him a key. But his parents didn’t need to know that; he didn’t want to hear their judgements about Buck’s involvement in their lives. Helena eyed her son warily at his answer, but didn’t say anything more on the matter. Thank god his parents were polite enough to not make a scene in front of a stranger. 

Thankfully, both Buck and Eddie were saved from anymore explanation by the sound of crutches coming down the hall towards them. 

“Abuelo, I got what I wanted to- Buck!”

It was like the entire rest of the world melted away when Christopher saw Buck, every time without fail. Nothing else mattered, even if Eddie was standing right there, because Chris’ hero was standing in front of him, a smile as wide as the firetruck on his face as he waited for the kid to get close to him.

“Hey, superman!” Buck said in the soft voice Eddie only ever heard when it came to Chris, setting his shopping bag down and throwing his keys on the table as he moved to lift Chris into his arms. Buck held the boy tight to him, swinging himself and Chris around as the boy laughed in his arms. Eddie didn’t take his eyes off of them, with what he knew was a fond smile formed on his lips. 

“I can’t believe that you’re turning 10 years old tomorrow!” Buck exclaimed, feigning shock. The way he was holding Chris tightly looked like he hadn’t seen the boy in weeks, instead of just since Wednesday, like it had been. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay nine forever, buddy?”

Christopher frowned, patting his hand over Buck’s cheek. “Dad already tried that, Bucky. I promise I’ll still give you hugs, too, but I hafta turn 10 tomorrow.”

Buck laughed brightly, smiling at Eddie, who rolled his eyes and blushed lightly at his son calling him out. With one final squeeze, Buck put Chris back on the ground, and Eddie caught a glimpse of his parents looking at them, faces hardened. Christopher didn’t seem to register their sudden change in energy, moving over to his grandfather. 

“This is my Buck!” Chris stated excitedly, not registering that introductions had already been made. Eddie internally cringed at Chris’ “my”, but let his son continue talking all the same. “He came over to make us breakfast and take Daddy and I to the park before my party.”

Buck looked embarrassed to be there under the watchful gaze of Eddie’s parents, but relaxed his body as Eddie came up and put a hand on his shoulder. The looks they exchanged were clear. 

_“I am so sorry about this; I didn’t know they were coming.”_

_“It’s okay. I got your back.”_

“Did he, now?” Helena asked, resting a hand gently on Christopher’s head as she stared Eddie down. Eddie had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. His parents were never comfortable around people they didn’t know, and the trusted no adult that wasn’t family around Christopher. Not that it was their choice to make anyway. No matter how much they thought it was. 

“Yeah, he did,” Eddie stated sharply, leaving no room for questions. “Chris, why don’t you show Abuelo what you got from your room and then you can go help Buck in the kitchen, okay?”

Buck took it as his cue to back out of the room, moving into the closed off kitchen. Thankfully, the sound didn’t travel well between the rooms, but nonetheless, as Chris held out a book or whatever it was so his grandparents could see it, Eddie gripped Buck’s bicep to stop him. 

He spoke in a low enough voice that his parents wouldn’t be able to hear, “Look, Buck, I’m sorry. This really isn’t how I imagined this day going.”

“Eds, I kinda figured that part out. It’s not your fault, and I’m fine. I told Chris I’d be here today and tomorrow, and I’m going to do that.”

“Even if you hear some shit? As soon as they have Chris out of the room, there’s gonna be a conversation.”

Buck smiled sadly, “Nothing I haven’t heard before.”

And if that didn’t break Eddie’s heart. 

“Buck-”

“Eddie, I promise it’ll be okay. No matter what they have to say about me, Carla, the 118, and no matter what they have to say about you. You’re Chris’ dad, and nothing will ever change that. They can’t do anything about it or take him away from you. They’ll only be here for a few days, right?”

With that, Buck reached up a hand to squeeze Eddie’s shoulder and moved into the kitchen. Of course Buck got down to the root of this issue quicker than Eddie could even process it himself. He had told Buck one night, after maybe one too many beers, about everything his parents had said. That they had wanted Chris with them permanently, that apparently he didn’t feed his kid right, that he didn’t pay enough attention to when Chris needed help- even if the two of them had already talked about Chris wanting to try it by himself first- that Christopher had once told him that he didn’t feel independent enough when they were around, that they had tried to get him to move back to El Paso after the funeral and basically every time they had talked since. He knew his parents loved him, he did, but after _everything_ , after the years he had been here in LA, they still didn’t think he was good enough. They still didn’t think he could be a father to Christopher, didn’t trust him to take care of his own kid. 

And here they were, standing in his living room, ready to shoot out whatever judgements they could come up with to tell Eddie that he was making a mistake or wasn’t a good father. But Buck was here, and Chris was smiling up at him as he walked past his father and into the kitchen where Buck was waiting, and Eddie knew that whatever they had to say, whatever argument they got in, he at least had them to remind him that they loved him, trusted him, and that he really was a good dad. Eddie closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to his parents. They had taken a seat on the sofa as they’d talked with Chris, so Eddie moved over to the TV stand, resting against it as he stood and faced his parents. 

“Do you really think it’s good to have Buck come over so often?”

Oh, so they were getting right into it then. Eddie let out a deep sigh. “Mom. . .”

“I’m sorry, Eddie, but really. You just allow that- that adult male into the house whenever he wants? You allow him to look after Christopher on his own? What if something happened? What would you do if he did something to Chris, huh?” 

“Do something to- why the hell would he do something to Chris?”

His mom pursed her lips. Eddie knew what Buck looked like. His 6’2” frame, muscles the size of a watermelon, faint scars on his arms and face from the truck, tsunami, and just life on the job. But he also had those puppy dog eyes and bright, childlike smile, and the warmest hugs Eddie had ever experienced. Nothing was dangerous about Buck, not really. Hell, he saved lives for a living.

“Edmundo,” his father said, sounding exasperated. “You have let strangers into Christopher’s life without thought. That is not kind of stability for him.”

“Strangers? Dad, Buck is not a stranger. No one I work with would _ever_ hurt Christopher. If nothing else, they all have children of their own. I would never put Chris around anyone he didn’t want to be with. And he loves spending time with Buck, okay? So please- whatever you have to say, it can wait. Chris has been looking forward to spending time with Buck all week, so can we please just let him have this? You’re welcome to join us today, but Buck isn’t going anywhere.”

Ramon’s face was tensed and Helena looked to the ground, but both his parents nodded. Eddie let out a deep breath. That was that for now, at least. 

“Dad!” Chris called out from the kitchen. “Breakfast is ready!” 

All three of them pulled themselves together, slapping on smiles as they moved towards the table. Buck came out of the kitchen, Christopher hanging off his neck and back as Buck set the table. Eddie was surprised to see that Buck had already pulled out an extra chair from the small table in the kitchen corner. Part of his was simply floored- it hadn’t even occurred to Eddie until walking over that the table only sat four people- and part of him filled with worry, knowing that meant Buck had left the kitchen and most definitely heard part of his talk with his parents. But Buck was smiling, so Eddie let it go for now. _“Nothing I haven’t heard before.”_

“What kind of pancakes did you force Buck to make, huh, Chris?” Eddie asked lightly. Buck rolled his eyes- like Chris had to force him into anything; those two were partners in crime. And in sugar-rushes.

“We made chocolate chip and blueberry!” Chris announced, tapping Buck’s shoulder so he would let him down. Buck crouched down easily, letting Chris jump off his back. Eddie raised his eyebrows with a smile, mouthing a “wow” at the types of pancakes. He knew Buck was sure to go all out for breakfast, and Eddie was sure it would be even bigger tomorrow. 

“ _And_ he weaseled his way into homemade whipped cream. We made way too much, though so you’ll probably have some for the next two weeks,” Buck added, smiling down at Christopher as he went back into the kitchen. 

“Isn’t that a lot of sugar for this early in the morning?” Ramon mumbled, but Eddie just shot him a look. 

“He’ll run it all off at the park.” 

Thankfully, they were able to go about breakfast with peace and politeness. Chris, in all his excitement for the day, didn’t pick up on the tension between the adults in the room. He chatted without purpose to his grandparents, telling them tales of school, Denny and Harry, and whatever else he could think of. Buck and Eddie gently interjected into the story when they felt the need or to correct something, but for the most part sat side by side at the table, quietly eating some of the best pancakes Buck had ever made. Thank god for Bobby’s cooking lessons. Buck and Eddie had both been lucky to get the entire day off; the rest of the team was on shift until late this afternoon. Eddie had requested the weekend off ages ago, but Bobby had practically made Buck beg for it. Eddie knew the captain had always intended to give Buck the days off, too, but he had teased the youngest member of their team for the whole day before rolling his eyes and telling him to ask if Beyers could cover the shifts. 

When breakfast had finished, Chris no longer gobbling down more and more pancakes, Buck and Eddie stood to start gathering plates. As they began moving towards the kitchen, Eddie heard his father scoff. 

“Eddie, really. You already had your guest make breakfast, are you going to make him do dishes as well?”

Eddie felt almost embarrassed at his father’s words. Buck wasn’t exactly a guest in this house. He never had been. At least his father’s judgement this time was a crack at him rather than at Buck. Before he could even formulate an answer, Buck was speaking up from next to him, where their shoulders were pressed together. 

“Oh, it’s not a problem, um, Mr. Diaz. It’s the least I can do for everything these boys do for me.” 

Buck’s smile was enough to make Eddie’s heart thump loudly in his chest. He was left staring after Buck as he moved into the kitchen and could feel his parents eyes on him. He simply swallowed heavily, following after Buck. He bumped their shoulders together as they stood at the sink. He was glad that even though Helena and Ramon were visiting, Buck didn’t feel the need to change any part of their routine either. Their little unit strives on routine, Christopher especially. The boy didn’t like sudden changes or surprises much; it was one of the reasons Christopher was fully aware of the party tonight. Isabel and Eddie both feared it would be too overwhelming for Chris if they tried to do a surprise party. His parents coming to LA kind of threw a wrench in that plan, though, because why wouldn’t they want to complicate Eddie’s life? Thankfully, however, Chris was just chatting away happily to his grandparents. Eddie supposed he was too excited for the party to care about much else. 

“Hey, Eddie?” Buck started quietly from next to him, drying the dishes with one of Eddie’s old towels. Eddie hummed in acknowledgement for him to continue. “Well, it’s just- I don’t want to- Look, I can go home if you need me to. I can make it up to Chris, take him to the park next day off, or-”

“Buck, why the fuck would I want you to go home?”

Buck bit the inside of his cheek, looking down at the plate in his hands. “I know how tense your parents make you, Eddie. And clearly they don’t like me- I thought your mom might eviscerate me on the spot when I gave Chris a _butter knife_ to cut his pancakes. I can deal with it, I don’t care, but- I don’t want to add to your stress by making you worry about what they say about me or anything.”

Eddie stared dumbfounded at his best friend. Sure, of course he’d seen his mother’s look at the knife. It was the same one she’d had that last day before Shannon left, when he’d given Chris the drink without the straw. He also remembered how when he’d come back with the juice box, he saw that Helena had moved the plastic knife- that Eddie hadn’t even _given_ him, just left on the table when she’d sent him back inside the house- as far away from Christopher as she could possibly put it. It all made him wonder if they’d both been like this when him, Adriana, and Sophia were kids, too. 

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Eddie stated. “You are not going back to your apartment or breaking Christopher’s heart while you do it.”

“Eddie. . .”

“Buck, I’m serious, okay? You’re not adding to my stress. Just you being here is making this whole mess so much more bearable. I’m pretty sure you’re the only thing stopping me from already going crazy with my parents in my house. So we’re going to make those stupid pigs in a blanket Chris wanted for lunch, take him to the park, go to this insane birthday party that’s way to big for a 10 year old, and deal with my parents. Okay?”

Eddie’s voice was stern and final, the tone he used on Christopher when he knew the boy would try to argue with him. It clearly worked on adults, too, because Buck closed his mouth around whatever protest he’d prepared to make, nodded, and went back to drying the dishes. 

The rest of the morning went about a chaotic, but easy enough affair. Chris had taken Ramon and Helena to show off his bedroom- Ramon commented on the state of the guest room on their way past and Eddie promised he’d get it all ready for them by the end of the night. After that, because of course he did, Christopher simply wanted Bucky time. There were grumbles from both Eddie’s parents over having to split time with their grandson who they hadn’t seen in so long when this _man_ had clearly seen Chris only days ago. Buck had clearly gathered what Eddie’s parents would and would not approve of easily enough, so thankfully he steered Christopher away from video games and into Legos instead. As becoming a long standing tradition whenever the two got out the building blocks, they held a competition for best structure. Christopher made both his grandparents and Eddie vote for the winner. Helena and Ramon both voted for Christopher’s, obviously, not even sparing a glance towards Buck. 

Eddie, though, bought into their game. He eyed each sculpture with feigned critique, humming to himself. 

“I don’t know, Chris. . . I might have to vote for Buck’s.” Chris’ bottom lip pouted a little. “I wouldn’t want him to get sad if he doesn’t get a vote.”

Chris let out a giggle and Buck stuck his tongue out at him. “No, dad, that’s cheating! You can’t give Buck your vote because you _feel bad_.”

Buck scoffed, placing a hand over his chest. “You wound me, superman. He totally can.”

“Nuh uh!”

“Yeah huh!”

Eddie rolled his eyes. It always comes down to this same back and forth. Really, Eddie should just stop letting them have Lego building competitions, but the joy on both his boys’ faces was enough to keep them going. He knew that normally, they would keep going with the yeses and nos until they compromised into combining their two sculptures into one, big, “perfect” creation, but Ramon put a stop to that. 

“Young man, do you find it rewarding to argue with a child?”

Eddie sighed deeply when Chris and Buck’s back and forth suddenly ceased. Chris frowned a little, and Buck looked lost trying to come up with a response. 

“We’re not arguing, Abuelo. Buck’s my friend.”

Buck smiled softly, rubbing his hand up and down Chris’ back. “It’s okay, Chris. Your grandparents were right- you’re Legos are clearly the best.”

That had earned a smile from the boy. After Legos, Buck decided he should probably get started on making the food for the picnic. Eddie had been designated to cutting fruits and veggies duty, and Chris wanted to watch Buck cook, so he requested to stay in the kitchen with them. Ramon wanted to get their bags put away, going out to the car to pull his and his wife’s suitcases and put them in the spare room. Helena wasted no time in interrogating Buck on his cooking. Buck answered quickly and calmly: Yes, he’d made these pigs in a blanket for Chris before, and they were perfectly healthy and even vegan. Yes, he knew about Christopher’s strawberry allergy, so he’d only brought melon and apples. No, he wasn’t worried about temperatures keeping because the cooler he’d borrowed from Hen was insulated and had two separate sections- one for hot foods and one for cold. Oh, he’d learned most of his cooking skills from their boss, who was always making delicious foods for them to eat during shifts or at parties- “Captain Bobby’s cooking is awesome!” Chris had piped up. Once Ramon had joined the questioning: No, he only planned to pack water and juices for the picnic; he drank very minimally around Christopher and so did Eddie. 

When lunch was finally packed and they were all ready to leave for the park, there was the issue of cars. If it had just been the three of them, they all would have piled into Eddie’s truck and been on their way. But none of their vehicles would comfortably fit five people, four of whom were adults. Buck, of course, immediately offered to just take his own Jeep and let the Diazes ride together, but Chris took issue with that. When it seemed like that would be the plan, the boy looked up at Eddie with wide eyes. 

“Dad, can I ride with Buck?”

Eddie and Buck looked between each other over him, neither sure what to say. On one hand, Eddie knew he could say yes and not be worried; Buck had accommodated his Jeep as best he could to handle Christopher’s CP, and it’s not like Chris wasn’t in Buck’s vehicle regularly anyway. On the other hand, if he did say yes, it would mean a car ride _alone_ with his parents. And he was sure they would have some things to say about him allowing Buck to take Chris in his vehicle. Eddie could practically hear the kidnapping charge being filed. 

“Sure, buddy, you can go with Buck. We’ll meet you guys at the park, okay?”

Because it’s Christopher’s birthday. 

Buck looked hesitant, even as he was helping Christopher into the car. Helena tried to stop them, saying, “Chris, baby, are you sure you want to go with him?” Yet her words had no effect, and both his parents were quickly shut up by the visual of Christopher climbing into a special Cerebral Palsy accommodating car seat. Buck had insisted on buying it, even though Chris barely used a car seat when he was with Eddie anymore, because he felt safer knowing that Chris had the added protection. And Chris, who usually argued that he wasn’t a baby anymore and didn’t need the car seat Eddie stored in the trunk, never argued against using it because he also knew it made his Buck feel better. 

When they were all seated in the pick-up truck after Buck had pulled out of the driveway, Eddie driving, his mom in the passenger seat and father in the back, he made his way away from the house and towards the park. It was the same park Eddie always took Chris to, and their usual spot for days out with Christopher. 

“So,” Helena said, turning her head to face Eddie. He kept his eyes on the road. 

_Please don’t say something about Buck. Please don’t say something about Buck._

“Tell us more about this party you’re throwing.”

“Oh, um. Abuela’s throwing it, actually, I guess. I’m just kind of along for the ride and in charge of getting Chris there.”

“Who else will be there? Besides your sister and. . . _Buck.”_

Eddie gripped the steering wheel tightly. “Chris made the choices about who got invited. Made them handwritten invitations and everything. Some friends from school. Harry and Denny, who he was telling you about. They’re my coworker’s kids.”

“And is it just the kids?” Helena asked, though Eddie was pretty sure she already knew the answer to that. 

“No. Chris invited my team from the 118, too.”

“You’re telling us that it was our grandson who invited so many random adults?” Ramon asked, causing Eddie to roll his eyes. 

“Yes, he did. Handwritten invitations. And none of them are random, dad. I trust them with my life, and Christopher _likes_ being with them. They’re like family.”

“ _No,_ your family is in El Paso. Where you left them,” Ramon insisted. If Eddie took the next turn a bit too sharply, causing them all to jerk in their seats, no one commented. 

Eddie was harsh as he put the truck in park, having pulled in right next to Buck’s Jeep. He could see that Buck and Christopher had already claimed their usual picnic table by the swings, sitting and laughing together about who-knows-what. Eddie turned in his seat to face both his parents. 

“I didn’t _leave_ anyone. I made the decision I thought was best for me and Christopher.”

“Exactly, you _thought-_ ”

“Dad, just stop, okay? You barely bat an eye when Sophia moved to Houston. You encouraged Adriana to move to Santa Clarita. Why is my life so different? Because you think you have some sort of claim on Christopher? Because I was in the Army and you never liked Shannon? You need to understand that Christopher and I left El Paso for a reason. You will always be our family, and we will always love you, but we have family here, too. You guys don’t get to control that, or tell me I’m making mistakes. _I_ am Christopher’s parent. Either start accepting that, or leave.”

Eddie didn’t give them room to respond before climbing out of the truck and walking towards Buck and Christopher. His family. Chris smiled widely when he saw his father, waving brightly. Eddie reached down with a matching smile, ruffling his son’s hair before pressing a kiss to the curls. Buck looked tense, and Eddie knew his eye had caught Helena and Ramon standing outside of Eddie’s truck, whispering back and forth to themselves in a way that clearly wasn’t happy. Rather than bothering to offer explanation, Eddie just shook his head and stepped into Buck’s space. His best friend wasted no time in wrapping his arms around Eddie, one across his shoulders and the other around his torso. 

“You okay?”

Eddie let his forehead rest on Buck’s shoulder. He couldn’t believe he’d just done that. He had been so adamant that he wouldn’t say anything to lead to a fight this weekend. Not when Christopher was meant to be the focus. But he had snapped. Something about the look in his father’s eyes, the tense set of his mother’s jaw, and the implication that their life since Eddie had joined the 118 wasn’t the _best_ thing to ever happen to them, and Eddie just couldn’t do it anymore. At least there hadn’t been any street fighting, right? 

The pressure Buck’s muscled arms were providing around him was grounding, comfortable. Christopher, ever in tune with when Buck or Eddie needed comfort, came around, wrapping his arms around their legs and waists in a hug. Eddie laughed a little at the feeling, pulling back from Buck enough to lift Christopher into his arms. Buck kept a hand on Eddie’s back. 

“Alright, buddy. What first? You wanna eat or play?” 

Eddie was _not_ going to let this be about him. 

“Eat!” 

Buck let out a laugh, shaking his head fondly at the kid. They moved to unpack the cooler as Eddie’s parents finally made their approach. Buck, who of course was trying to pull way to many things out of the cooler after handing Chris plates and napkins to lay out, was stopped from dropping everything by Helena, of all people.

“Let me help you with that,” she said quietly, a tense but small smile on his face. Buck looked surprised as she began setting things out on the table, but recovered quickly enough, smiling back and jumping into action. Eddie didn’t know how to feel about his mom’s actions. He was sure that it was meant to be a peace offering, saying that they hadn’t meant to fight anymore than Eddie had. But he wasn’t sure it was genuine. His father didn’t bother even looking at him, making Eddie sigh internally. It was a common tactic; he didn’t think he was at fault, so he simply wouldn’t acknowledge Eddie until Eddie acknowledged that he was wrong. Which he very rarely actually was in instances such as this. Eddie could deal with his father ignoring him, though, as long as Christopher stayed smiling and excited. 

Eddie was surprised that his mother’s olive branch stretched so far as to talk directly to Buck during their lunch. She asked him about working on the firehouse, inquired if he had any family in the area, and laughed at Buck and Christopher’s tales of Eddie embarrassing himself on calls, in the kitchen, or any other funny story they could come up with. Ramon seemed uninterested in it all, but Eddie knew even he couldn’t deny how Buck was showing how good he was with Christopher, and that he clearly cared deeply for him. Eddie retaliated against his son and best friend’s stories, regaling his mom with Buck and Chris’ antics. When they were done eating, Helena even complimenting Buck on his vegan lunch, Chris begged his grandparents to follow him to the swings to push him. Eddie and Buck stayed behind, offering to clean. 

“That was. . . unexpected,” was all Buck had to say when the others were out of earshot. Eddie huffed a laugh, nodding. 

“Yeah.”

“What the hell happened on the way over here, Eds?” Buck rested his hand on Eddie’s waist lightly. It made Eddie want to lean into it, fall back into an embrace. He didn’t, but he took a step closer. 

“I yelled at them. Told them to stop trying to criticize me for every little thing, that they weren’t Chris’ parents.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m proud of you.”

Oh. He hadn’t been expecting that. He looked at Buck, who had that soft, fond looking smile on his face. His blue eyes were _glowing_ with care and love. It made Eddie blush under the force of it. He really wanted to kiss that smile off his face, but he knew it certainly wasn’t the time. 

“Thank, Buck,” Eddie’s quiet voice sounded foreign to his own ears, emotion running through it thickly. “For being here with me, taking care of Christopher. It means a lot.”

Buck squeezed his hip. “Of course. Nowhere I’d rather be than with my boys.”

_My_ boys. Was Buck trying to drive Eddie crazy?

After they’d gotten everything packed back into the cooler, Chris began waving them over. 

“Buck! Dad! Come play.”

Buck glanced down at his watch, wincing as he did so. It was nearing three. 

“I’m sorry, Chris, I can’t,” Buck said, causing both Eddie and Christopher to frown. “I promised your bisabuela I would go to her house early for the party.”

“You did?” Chris asked, looking sad.

“You did?” Eddie echoed. Buck smiled, looking at the ground sheepishly. 

“Yeah. She called me yesterday, asking if I would come over around three to help her and Pepa make the tamales our birthday boy requested. Something about an extra set of hands.”

All of them stared at Buck in surprise. Eddie knew his grandmother had been teaching Buck some recipes when he came over to pick up or drop off Chris or for dinner some nights, but he had no idea she’d taught him _tamales_. It was a secret Diaz recipe. Eddie barely knew it, not that he had much hope of making them right anyway. Eddie caught glimpse of his father, standing with his mouth open and an unreadable look in his eyes. Eddie supposed nothing they’d said that day implied that Buck even knew Isabel, let alone that they were close enough to cook together. 

“So,” Buck continued, “I have to go pick up Pepa from her house and drive to Abuela’s, but-”

Buck crouched down, hugging Christopher tightly, “-I will see you in a few hours, okay? With more tamales than you can count and all ready for the best birthday party ever!”

Chris nodded, his spirits lifted when he realized that Buck was just leaving to prepare for the party. “Love you!” 

“Love you, too, buddy,” Buck smiled, standing back up and moving away from the park. He squeezed Eddie’s shoulder on the way out, stopping for a moment. 

“I’ll see you later, kay? Call me if you need anything.”

Eddie smiled at the reassurance, nodding to Buck in response. “See you later.”

\--------

The time in between Buck leaving the park and needing to leave so that the kid of the hour could be there at a reasonable time for his own party passed quickly. They had spent maybe another hour at the park before Eddie convinced him that they needed to go home so Chris could get ready to go to Isabel’s. Eddie’s father still hadn’t looked at him, simply moving into the house with silence so he could go to the guest room and change his own clothes. Helena, for her part, seemed determined to act like the snide comments from this morning and the argument in the truck had never happened. She was smiling, joking, helping where she could and acting absolutely nothing like her usual overbearing self. Eddie isn’t sure which side of his mother he preferred. 

Eddie changed into a pair of dark jeans and an army green button down. As he rolled the sleeves up to his elbows, he couldn’t help notice how loose the shirt was around the shoulders and arms. It was Buck’s shirt, he soon realized. It had probably gotten thrown in his laundry last time Buck spent the night. He was never really surprised anymore to find that he had Buck’s shirts in his closet or that Buck came into the firehouse wearing one of his. It was easier to spot when Buck wore one of his shirts than when Eddie wore one of Buck’s; Buck’s arms were just too damn big. Eddie didn’t know how he managed to work out his muscles _that_ much. But it made him go weak in the knees if he thought about it too long. 

When Eddie exited his room to knock on the doorway to Christopher’s, he saw his son once again bounding around with excitement. Chris had changed his pants into a clean pair of jeans the same color as Eddie’s, and he was wearing a light blue shirt in place of the green one he’d gotten dirty at the park. 

“You ready to go, bud?”

“Yes!”

Eddie laughed, holding out his son’s crutches for him. 

“All right, kid. Let’s get a move on.” 

When they arrive at Isabel’s, the only car in the driveway or on the street is Buck’s. Eddie’s grandmother and aunt greet them with hugs, kisses, and smiles. They both fawn over the birthday boy first, then move to Eddie’s parents. 

“Ramon!” Isabel greets her son with more joy than Eddie thinks in naturally coming from her. “Our darling Evan mentioned that you were coming.”

Eddie could see that yet another implication that Buck truly was part of the family was irking his father. Eddie loved the subtle sense of ownership, though, that Buck belonged to this family. Isabel and Papa had been charmed by Buck within the first five minutes of them both meeting him, and Eddie wouldn't have it any other way. Despite Damon's clear annoyance at his mother's words, he hugged his mother, then sister, and did not say anything more about Buck. As Pepa sent Chris, Ramon, and Helena out to the backyard to approve of the decorations they’d made Buck put up, Isabel put her hand on Eddie’s arm to guide him into the kitchen. Buck was standing at the sink, washing his hands. Clearly before picking up Pepa, Buck had stopped by his apartment to change. His black jeans were paired with a tight maroon t-shirt, and Eddie had spotted Buck’s tan bomber jacket hanging on the coat hook by the door. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make Eddie’s mouth water. Especially once Buck glanced over his shoulder when they walked into the kitchen and shot him a bright smile. 

“Oh, niento,” Isabel whispered to him. “I apologize for my son and daughter-in-law.”

Eddie shook his head. “It’s fine, Abuela.”

She shook her head to say that she clearly didn’t believe him, but she let it go with a purse of her lips and pat on his forearm. Eddie was saved from his grandmother’s fussing, however, by the sound of the doorbell. Eddie announced he would get it, swiftly moving back towards the home’s entrance. He opened the door to the familiar faces of his sister, brother-in-law, and twin niece and nephew. The two of them were two years younger than Chris, and they’d always gotten along swimmingly. 

“Hermano! It’s good to see you,” Adriana greeted as Eddie bent to lift the twins, Marc and Lucy, in a hug. He kissed both of them on the cheek, smiling at their giggles, before setting them down and lightly pushing them towards the backyard, letting them know that Chris was out there. He clasped hands with his brother-in-law, Dean, then moved to hug his sister. 

“You told mami and papi, huh?” he whispered. Adriana gave a sigh, nodding against his shoulder. 

“I did. I’m sorry, Eddie. I had no idea they would just show up like this, I wasn’t thinking.”

It was no secret to anyone in their family that things were tense between Eddie and his parents. 

“Don’t worry about it. Nothing we can do now,” Eddie said as he released Adriana. 

“Hey, it's great to see you!” came from behind him. Eddie turned to see that Buck had come to greet whoever was at the door, Eddie’s parents, grandmother, and aunt not too far behind. Buck rushed up to hug Adriana. The two had met when she and Dean had moved to California; Eddie and Buck had been roped into unpacking duty. Adriana hugged back happily, greeting him with excitement. The two had gotten along way too well for Eddie’s sanity to handle. So many embarrassing stories. Soon after greetings had been made all around, Isabel began ushering everyone into the backyard, saying that more guests would be arriving soon. Everyone knew better than to disobey an order. Ramon got suckered into helping his mother set up the food outside, Eddie was sure, so that they could have a talk. It was nothing Eddie would want to hear, he was sure. 

Sure enough, only minutes after everyone had gotten out to the backyard and the party was fully set up, the doorbell was ringing again. Since the guests would either be their friends or being dropped off by parents that they knew from Christopher’s school, Buck and Eddie had been put on door duty. Carla was the first to arrive, giving both firefighters a hug before moving around the house with familiarity from her help with Chris. Then it was Hen and Karen with Denny and Nia. Thankfully for Eddie, most of Christopher’s school friends arrived before Chimney and Maddie had. The minute Buck saw his baby niece in Maddie’s arms, he was a lost cause. Buck had taken the little girl out of his sister’s arms after kissing her on the cheek and clapping Chim on the back, simply pointing to the backyard and taking his time to coo over the baby. Eddie rolled his eyes at how Buck immediately had no other care in the world, but he couldn’t stop smiling at the sight of Buck with a baby in his arms. Eddie was able to snap his eyes away from the image- he was probably about two seconds away from drooling over how freaking cute Buck was with her- when Bobby and Athena showed up with the kids in tow. 

Eventually, Buck and Eddie were able to make their way out to the backyard with everyone else. The fenced-in area was brimming with life. Christopher was surrounded by all of his friends as they played some weird game of tag involving squeals of laughter and out of breath running. The adults mingled, everyone introducing themselves to the members of Eddie’s family they had never met. Buck barely had time to step foot on the grass before being accosted by Chimney, who was demanding Buck give his daughter back. 

“Dude, no. You live with this little munchkin, I never get to see her!” Buck tried to argue. 

Chimney just rolled his eyes in response, “Buck, you saw her last night.” 

Eddie just laughed, throwing his arm around Buck in show of comfort as Buck reluctantly passed his niece back to her father. AS Eddie glanced around to the food table they’d set up, he did indeed find way more tamales than he could count. There would definitely be leftovers by the end of the night. The rest of the table was littered with various snacks, fruits, vegetables, and candies that Christopher loved. It was enough food to feed the entire firehouse for three shifts straight. Eddie almost felt bad for scheduling the party in the evening rather than the afternoon; all the parents, himself included, were going to have the absolute worst time trying to get the kids asleep. 

“Eddie, I didn’t know your parents were coming,” Bobby commented as he approached him and Buck. 

“Me neither, Cap,” came his reply, trying to sound cheerful. Bobby gave him a tight smile that told him he didn’t buy Eddie’s joy for a second. Bobby was both a friend and like a father to everyone at the 118, and Eddie had told him that he didn’t always have the best relationship with them. 

“Well, if you need anything, Athena and I are right here, okay? We’ve got your back.”

Eddie smiled at his Captain, and he felt Buck’s shoulder nudge his in support. “Thanks, Bobby.”

The party was a chaotic mess of the kids playing, random breaking out of the happy birthday song, adults taking pictures, scattered plates of food and cups messily labeled in Sharpie, and loud, pure, unadulterated joy. Eddie didn’t let himself think about his father never once glancing his way or how he avoided talking to any of Eddie’s coworkers like the plague. He caught sight, once or twice, of Ramon talking to Athena or Karen, but he mostly kept to Adriana and the rest of the fully fledged Diaz family or the children. At some point, Maddie, Karen, and May, surprisingly, had pulled Buck away from Eddie, probably to gossip about something or another. So Eddie allowed himself to mingle with his friends and family, catching up with Dean, thanking his grandmother and aunt for a party well done, and joking with Hen and Chim. 

After a while, Eddie felt a hand on his arm. When he turned, he saw his mom standing there, looking as if she wanted to talk. Silently, Eddie nodded, moving back towards the house and onto Isabel’s back porch, where nobody was. 

“Look, mom, if you came over hear to tell me I need to apologize to dad-”

“I wasn’t.”

His mom’s words were genuine, which made Eddie frown in confusion. Whenever Eddie and his father got like this, it was always his mom who served as the mediator, guilting or forcing Eddie into apology. 

“I came over to, well. I came to apologize to _you_ , Eddie. You- you were right earlier.”

“Mom?”

“Your father and I have no right to try and make decisions for Christopher. It was- it was just hard. When you were overseas, we became everything Shannon and Chris needed, at any time of the day. So when you said you were moving away, taking Christopher with you without knowing if you would have someone to help you all the time- it was so hard for us, Eddie. It’s still hard. But you were right, we lost sight of the fact that we weren’t his parents.”

Eddie looked down at the wood beneath his feet. This was the calmest he and his mom had ever talked about this, and he had never heard her admit fault. 

“I know it was hard for you, mom, I do. And I’m sorry for that. But Chris and I- I needed a fresh start after Shannon left. I needed to learn how to be my son’s father and how to be a civilian again, and I needed to do that away from you guys and that house. And mom, I just- I think it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”

Eddie could see the hurt on Helena’s face at his words, but she smiled nonetheless. “I can see on Christopher’s face that he’s happy here. I see it on yours, too. I didn’t want to, I wanted to think that you still need us-”

“Mom, Chris and I are always going to need you.”

“But not like you used to. You have what you need here in Los Angeles, don’t you? And Christopher has stability.”

Eddie looked out at the backyard. His family- his _home_ \- were all gathered to celebrate the most important part of Eddie’s life. He could hear Karen and Hen’s laughter, could see Chimney and Maddie’s perfect little daughter place her baby fist over her father’s nose with a gurgle of laughter from Maddie’s arms, caught glimpse of Bobby and Athena dancing in a corner, foreheads pressed together. His sister’s smile was happy next to them, where Dean spun her and the twins around in a circle. Abuela, Pepa, and Carla were chatting as they busied themselves around the food table, refilling bowls and stirring the lemonade. In the center of the yard, all the kids, including May and Nia, had gathered in a circle to sit, playing Duck, Duck, Goose. Eddie watched carefully as Buck, because of course he was playing, pretended to run away from Chris chasing him, and he let out a laugh as Chris dramatically tackled Buck to the ground. Buck’s smile was beautiful and happy as he rolled in the grass with Christopher, who was laughing loudly at having caught his Buck. Eddie couldn’t seem to rip his eyes away from the pair. 

He was still watching them, as Buck stood up and directed Chris to sit down before dramatically walking around the circle and then taking off from May’s chase, when he answered his mom with a nod of his head. His heart was too busy almost bursting for him to form words. He and Christopher were happy in Los Angeles. Christopher had people he could trust in Carla, Buck, and the rest of Eddie’s team. They were _loved_ and _safe._

Helena followed Eddie’s gaze, now also watching the most important person in his and Christopher’s life. 

“He’s a nice young man. He’s shown that in multitudes today.”

Eddie nodded, floored a little by both his mom’s apology and the sudden switch to _nice_ things to say about Buck. 

“Are you and he. . ?”

Eddie blushed at her words, snapping his head to look at his mom. But she was smiling gently, encouraging. He had missed his mom looking at him like that. 

“We- um. No. We’re not. We could be, maybe. Hopefully. But not yet.”

Helena rested her hand on his forearm, squeezing. “Well, if you do reach that hopefully, then I’m happy for you, Eddie. I really am.”

Eddie nearly felt tears well in his eyes. He moved to hug his mom, who wrapped her arms around him in the motherly embrace he hadn’t felt in way too long. 

“I really am sorry, Eddie,” she said as they pulled away, Helena brushing a hand over her son’s cheekbone. 

“And dad?” Eddie couldn’t help ask. His mom sighed and smiled sadly, which was answer enough. Eddie had seen his father go inside the house a little while ago, under the guise of needing to take a phone call. Eddie had no idea where he was now. 

“Your father is going to need a little more time,” Helena answered. Eddie’s jaw was tense as he looked to the ground, nodding. 

“Your father, he just. He doesn’t get it. The whole single-parent thing.”

When Eddie gave her a confused stare at her attempt at explanation, she went on. 

“You and I both know your father was constantly working when you three were children. Half the time it felt like he didn’t even live with us, and with you and your sisters so close together. . . Without him at the birth for _any_ of you, it seemed like I was a single parent a lot of the time. It certainly caused a lot of strain between us.”

Eddie hadn’t known any of that. Well, he knew how often his father was working, that his mom was always the one to drive them to family gatherings, play-dates, was the one who woke them up and tucked them into bed, but his parents had hid well that they were having conflict over it. Maybe it had just been the childhood innocence. 

“Just give your dad some time, Eddie. He’ll come around.”

Eddie wasn’t sure that he would. 

“Oh, and before we left your house, I threw my and your father’s bags in the back of your truck. I already talked to your grandmother- we’ll spend the night here. And if it’s okay with you, I’d love to take you, Christopher, and Buck out tomorrow. As a gift for Chris’ birthday.”

Eddie smiled, “Ice cream. If you buy Chris some ice cream, he’ll sing your praises for days.”

Helena laughed, nodding, “Ice cream it is.”

With that, she made her way off the porch and back into the chaos of the yard. Eddie watched as she moved towards where Maddie and Carla were standing, greeting the both. Not long after, he saw Maddie pass off her daughter into Helena’s arms, smiling at her. A quick glance around the yard showed him that Buck had moved away from the game, and he was now leaning against Isabel’s large tree, observing the party the same as Eddie was. As if magnetically pulled together, Eddie was suddenly off the porch and walking directly towards Buck. Buck smiled as he caught his eyes, waving in greeting. 

“Hey, Eddie.”

“Hey,” Eddie said, mind running a mile a minute. 

“How are you doing?”

“My mother approves of you,” is the best reply Eddie’s mouth could seem to come up with. 

“What?” Buck’s frown of pure confusion was almost enough to make Eddie laugh. He probably shouldn’t have led with that. 

“My mom just pulled me aside. She _apologized_ , Buck. Like genuinely, fully apologized.”

“Eddie, that’s _good._ ”

He knew Buck heard the disbelief in Eddie’s voice. “I know that, Buck. I mean- it’s fucking _great._ She apologized, and now she’s over there and holding your niece and probably telling Carla and Maddie way too many baby stories of me.”

Buck smiled softly at him, bumping their shoulders together. After a moment, he asked, “What about your father?”

Eddie sighed. “Jury’s still out, I guess. Mom said to give him time, but I’ve given him 33 years, Buck. I don’t know how much more waiting I can do.” 

“I get it, Eds. I mean, you know me and Maddie- we haven't even talked to our parents since Maddie and Doug’s wedding.”

After a few minutes of silence, simply standing together and relaxing in each other’s presence, Buck turned to him, head tilted in question. “Did you say your mother approves of me?”

Eddie laughed, then nodded. “I did. She said you’re a ‘nice young man’. And when she was walking away, I swear I heard her mention something about us being a lovely couple.”

Buck made a ‘huh’ sound. 

“A lovely couple,” he repeated, turning his body towards Eddie’s. “And? Do you agree?”

Eddie blushed, but rolled his eyes. Really? Now of all times they were going to talk about this?

“I do,” Eddie answered simply. Buck’s smile could outshine the sun. 

“So if I pull you behind this tree right now and kiss you, you’re not gonna stop me?”

In lieu of answering, Eddie simply grabbed Buck’s arms, moving them to the other side of the- thankfully- large tree trunk. No one could see them from where they now stood, tucking in between the tall wooden fence and tall tree. The first press of their lips against each other was like a breath of fresh air. Like they were meant to be doing this. Nothing about it got heated; they were still surrounded by their family and children, and both were smiling far too widely to even call it a kiss anymore. Eddie’s hands were clutching Buck’s hips, both of Buck’s hands resting on Eddie’s neck and cheeks. Eddie let out a breathy laugh, tilting his chin up to kiss Buck again. Buck was quick to reciprocate, moving his mouth against Eddie’s gently and sweetly. It was, in every way, perfect. Neither of them pulled far away, just enough to rest their foreheads together. 

“Fuck, I love you,” Buck mumbled into the space between them. Eddie couldn’t get rid of the smile on his face even if he wanted to, which frankly, from the way his cheeks were beginning to ache, he kind of wanted to. 

“I love you, too. And I love the way you love Chris.” 

Buck’s arms moved down to Eddie’s waist, pulling him into a hug. They stayed wrapped like that for who knows how long, until they heard the telltale sound of crutches approaching. 

“Dad? Buck?”

Eddie reluctantly moved out of Buck’s embrace, moving out from behind the tree. “Hey, mijo. You okay?”

Christopher nodded, not batting an eye when Buck came up behind Eddie. “Bisabuela wants to have cake, but I said we couldn’t do it without you guys.” 

Buck smiled down at Chris, “Thanks for coming to find us, buddy. We’ll be right behind you.” 

Chris nodded dutifully, turning to wander back to where his great-grandmother was waiting, a knife in her hand and large sheet cake in front of her on the table. Eddie and Buck didn’t kiss again; they hadn’t actually talked about any of this- if they were going to tell everyone right away, how this newfound relationship dynamic would work- and it was way too public in the chatting backyard for either of them. But Buck pressed up close to Eddie’s side as they began moving towards the rest of the group, arms touching purposefully as they walked. Tonight, after the party was over and cleaned up, Buck and Eddie would pack Christopher and all his new gifts into the truck and Jeep, drive home, and tuck Chris into bed with kisses to the boy’s hair. They would fall asleep together, and wake up tangled in the morning to a newly minted 10 year old climbing on top of them. 

While Buck and Christopher made a feast of eggs, bacon, potatoes, and pancakes with whipped cream, Eddie would sneakily move throughout the house to place a large pile of gifts in the living room. If they kissed over breakfast, Chris’ only comment was “Daddy, not in front of the pancakes.” Later they would meet Helena for ice cream at Christopher’s favorite parlor, Chris riding piggyback on his dad while Buck held his crutches in one hand and swung Eddie’s between them on the other. No one, not even Christopher, mentioned the lack of Ramon's presence.

The weekend may have started a mess, Eddie thought, but it couldn’t end much better than this. 

**Author's Note:**

> This was. . . meant to be short. Oops?
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed!


End file.
